Selig to owners: Don't get 'cocky' on pricing
BY CHRIS JENKINS
AP SPORTS WRrrEat
MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Given
the state of the U.S. economy,
baseball commissioner Bud
Selig warned team owners
Saturday not to "get too cocky"
and overprice game tickets.
"Because you do pay a price,"
Selig said.
Speaking before Game 3 of
the NL playoff series between
the Philadelphia Phillies and
Milwaukee Brewers, Selig called
2008 a "phenomenal success"
for baseball despite a decline in
attendance that Selig attributed
to bad weather and high gas
prices.
But Selig acknowledged
Wait `til next year, again: Cubs
BY JOHN NADEL
AP SPORTS WRITER
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ It's a
century and counting for the
Chicago Cubs.
Manny Ramirez and the Los
Angeles Dodgers shoved Chicago
into another long winter Saturday
night, completing a three-game
sweep of their first-round playoff
series with a 3-1 victory.
The Cubs' latest flameout has
to be among the most galling,
considering they fell flat against
the Dodgers after their best
regular season since 1945 the
last time they appeared in the
World Series.
The Dodgers dominated this
series, outscoring Chicago 20-
6 thanks in part to a lot of help
from the bumbling Cubs. Cursed
or not, they were outplayed in
every way, committing six errors
and doing a woeful job of hitting
with runners in scoring position.
"Let me tell you this: You can
play postseason baseball for now
to another hundred years, but if
you score six runs in three games,
it's going to be another hundred
years before we win," manager
Lou Piniella said. "We just didn't
hit. We had opportunities and you
have to take advantage of them.
"This is six games I've managed
now in the postseason and we
have scored just 12 runs. That
doesn't get it done."
James Loney hit a two-out,
two-run double in the first to get
Los Angeles started, and Hiroki
Kuroda worked 6 1-3 brilliant
innings in the first postseason
outing of his career.
`Man, right now this is the place
concern about a prolonged
economic downturn and how it
might affect the sport next year.
"I think anybody in every
business is concerned," Selig
said.
Selig was optimistic about
baseball economics, citing
playoff appearances by the
small-market Brewers and
Tampa Bay Rays as an example
of the positive effects of revenue
sharing.
"I think the sport has more
competitive balance today than
there's ever been," Selig said.
Selig, a former owner of the
Brewers, is expected to throw out
the ceremonial first pitch Sunday
after the Brewers beat the Phillies
4-1 Saturday to send the NL
to be," Ramirez said. "We're
going to the second round."
The three wins boosted first-year
manager Joe Torre's postseason
total to 79 the most in baseball
history. His first 76 came in the
last 12 years as skipper of the
New York Yankees, including 16
in four World Series triumphs.
"We had a lot of people doubting
us • all year," Torre said. "We
struggled to find out who we were
for a long period of time."
After earning their first
postseason series win in 20 years,
the Dodgers will face Philadelphia
or Milwaukee in the best-of
seven NLCS starting Thursday
at Philadelphia should the
Phillies win, at Dodger Stadium
should the Brewers prevail.
"There's no easy way out of this
thing," Torre said. "But we're
just happy we have a chance to
sit back a little bit."
And the Cubs head home
without having come close to
their first World Series triumph
since 1908.. They have lost nine
straight playoff games, including
three to Arizona in the first round
last year.
While the Cubs clinched the
NL Central on Sept. 20 and
won a league-high 97 games,
the Dodgers had a losing record
as recently as early September
before turning things around
behind Ramirez. They went 84-78
and won the NL West, baseball's
weakest division.
"We have the best team in
the league, and we struggle in
the playoffs," Cubs outfielder
Alfonso Soriano said. "We did
not play good, like a team. That's
the reason we didn't win."
division series to a fourth game.
He said the festive atmosphere
surrounding Milwaukee's first
playoff appearance since 1982
made him recall the contentious
legislative fight he went through
to get Miller Park built in 2001,
mostly with public funding.
"Every time I drive by the
stadium I'm reminded of much
that went on," Selig said. "But
as my mother would have
said, thank goodness for small
favors: All the politicians that
fought it are either gone or don't
say anything. That's a good
thing. It's a wonderful day for
Milwaukee."
Selig acknowledged that there
are "reasonable" arguments for
and against public financing of
The Dodgers, meanwhile, entered
having won only one postseason
game since beating Oakland in
the 1988 World Series. They
tripled that output against the
Cubs, who became the first team
to finish with NL's best regular
season record and be swept in the
first round of the playoffs since
the Astros in 2001, according to
the Elias Sports Bureau.
Ramirez, who hit .396 with 17
homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games
after joining the Dodgers, went
1-for-2 and scored a run, giving
him five hits in 10 at-bats with
two homers, five runs scored and
three RBIs in the series. Rich
Harden (0-1) walked Ramirez
intentionally twice.
"I did it before, I'll do it again,"
Ramirez said. "When you're
relaxed and you're in a place you
really like, this is what happens."
The Dodgers acquired an
unhappy Ramirez from the Boston
Red Sox at the trade deadline.
The Dodgers began their locker
room champagne celebration
within a couple minutes after the
final out, and several returned to
the field shortly thereafter to share
their joy with the fans. Russell
Martin and Matt Kemp went into
the left-field pavilion, and Kemp
poured champagne into Kuroda's
mouth in front of the Los Angeles
dugout as the fans cheered.
Torre spoke to the fans some 20
minutes after the game ended.
"Dodger fans, you are very
special," he said. "The way you
supported us all year when we
struggled, when we couldn't get
out of our own way ... I can't tell
you how much we appreciate it.
Just don't go away, we'll be back
sports stadiums, but insisted that
it would be hard to argue that
the new stadium didn't make
Milwaukee a better place.
"You can debate the economics,"
Selig said. "I think it's a plus,
but we can have a reasonable
debate. But the question you
must always ask yourself is, will
this be a better place because we
have done this?"
Selig also praised the popularity
of the wild card but downplayed
talk of allowing more teams into
the playoffs.
"I don't happen to believe that,"
Selig said. "I happen to think the
system is good this way. I don't
think it should be changed. But
I think it's fair. And nobody can
say that the Milwaukee club this
eliminated by LA
next week, because we still have
eight more games to win."
With that, the fans roared their
approval.
Kuroda, a 33-year-old rookie
who signed a $35.3 million,
three-year contract with the
Dodgers last winter, scattered
six hits before being relieved
by Cory Wade with two on and
one out in the seventh. Kuroda
never appeared in a playoff
game during 11 seasons with
the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the
Japanese Central League.
This wasn't Kuroda's first
outstanding performance against
the Cubs he shut them out on
four hits while striking out 11 on
June 6 at Dodger Stadium.
"I must say I didn't have all my
stuff today," Kuroda said through
a translator. "But watching those
two games in Chicago and the
fans cheering, I rode the wave
along with the fans."
The Cubs were pretty awful in
the first two games at Wrigley
Field, where they were an NL
best 55-26 during the regular
season. Game 1 starter Ryan
Dempster matched a career high
with seven walks in 4 2-3 innings
in a 7-2 loss, and each of the four
Chicago infielders committed
errors in Game 2, leading to a 10-
3 setback.
A move to Los Angeles didn't
help the Chicago offense, which
scored a league-leading 855 runs
this year. The Cubs had only four
hits in 17 at-bats with runners in
scoring position in the first two
games before going 1-for-11 in
Game 3.
At least the long-suffering Cubs
fans weren't around to boo them
Oct. 8 2008
year that won 90 games shouldn't
be in the playoffs. Because, of
course, they should."
Selig also downplayed any
talk of expanding the first round
of the playoffs from to best
of-seven series. He told team
owners that expressed support of
more playoff games they would
have to cut regular-season games
from the schedule something
owners clearly weren't willing to
do and the players' union likely
would oppose.
"End of discussion," Selig
said.
Selig said there were no new
developments in the impending
sale of the Chicago Cubs.
in Game 3, although the Dodger
Stadium faithful made up for
that.
Martin hit a one-out double in
the first and took third on a single
by Ramirez. After Harden struck
out Andre Ethier, Loney hit a
liner down the right-field line,
giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead and
sending the towel-waving fans
into an early frenzy.
Rafael Furcal walked with one
out in the fifth and scored on a
double by Martin.
The Cubs got their run in the
eighth off Wade on a leadoff
double by Derrek Lee, who had
three hits, and a two-out RBI
single by pinch-hitter Daryle
Ward. Jonathan Broxton relieved
and struck out Mark Deßosa
to end the inning, and worked
a perfect ninth with two more
strikeouts to earn a save.
Harden allowed five hits and
three runs in 4 1-3 innings. He
had gone 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA
in his last 10 starts of the regular
season.
Notes: The Dodgers were 23-
9 at Dodger Stadium after the
All-Star break for the best home
record in baseball. ... The Cubs
were 42-38 on the road, but won
21 of their final 29 road games
including nine straight from July
23-Aug. 15. ... Former Dodgers
stars Don Newcombe and Duke
Snider threw the ceremonial first
pitches. Both were members of
the franchise's first World Series
champions, in 1955. The Dodgers
moved from Brooklyn to Los
Angeles three years later. ... The
Astros tied St. Louis for the NL's
best record in 2001